1. Field of the Invention
This patent application relates to medical devices that utilize a needle secured to a hub, including but not limited to catheter assemblies, blood collection devices, huber needle assemblies, syringes, and other needle-based medical devices.
2. Related Art
Current medical devices that include needles are formed by the use of molded tubes, a needle, and a rigid hub to which the needle is secured. The needle hub may be made out of a thin extruded tube or a thin molded tube. Devices of this type are shown in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/659,213, 60/659,217, 60/659,226, and 60/714,954, which are incorporated by reference herein. This method of assembling needle-based medical devices presents several problems associated with the use of molded tubes. One problem is the sheer expense of molding each individual tube used to form a device. The actual manufacture of such devices is also problematic. Molding long, thin members for medical devices with molded tubes is difficult, particularly where the mold core pin must be supported at its distal end. Particularly in small gauge needles, the core pin must have an extremely small diameter, rendering it extremely fragile, difficult to support, and difficult to center. Additionally, each needle size requires a different size core pin to form the needle. In view of the foregoing, there exists a need in the art to overcome one or more of the deficiencies indicated herein.